{"id":83587,"date":"2019-02-25T16:13:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T15:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=83587"},"modified":"2019-02-28T17:09:11","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T16:09:11","slug":"interview-stephane-donders-traveldoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/interview-stephane-donders-traveldoo","title":{"rendered":"Interview with : St\u00e9phane Donders, CEO of Traveldoo"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are the characteristics of new interface unveiled at the Business Travel Show<\/a>in London?<\/h3>\n

St\u00e9phane Donders -<\/strong> We have taken into account the requests of our customers, which are expressed in particular during the user groups that we organise regularly in France and the UK. So we worked on the 'Look & Feel': the ergonomics, the visual aspect, the graphics, without losing any of the simplicity, because what Traveldoo appreciates is the ease of use. book in three clicks<\/strong>. There was a lot of anticipation, and we know that the new interface<\/strong> will appeal to agencies and corporates alike. It's a project that's kept us very busy, especially as we're developing everything in-house, although we've also been able to draw on the experience of the Expedia group<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Will a traveller booking on Traveldoo have a similar experience to an Expedia booking?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong> Not necessarily. But generally speaking, there is a convergence between leisure and BtoB. There aren't that many differences any more, except of course that things are more regulated in business travel with validation workflows. But at the end of the day, whether you're using the mobile or the web, the expectations are the same. Expedia's extensive experience brings us a lot, and today there is much more interaction between Traveldoo's technical teams and those of the group<\/strong>. This reflects a desire to create more technical and product synergies.<\/p>\n

The \"expense\" section now includes character recognition (OCR), which didn't seem to be one of your priorities. one year earlier<\/a>…<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong> It's true... We had some projects in the pipeline, but we didn't go through with them. I admit that I put up a bit of resistance... But there were a lot of requests on this subject, particularly because of mobile use. L'OCR<\/strong> is now a reality, the tool has been deployed.<\/p>\n

What about the partnership with Dimo Software: is it still useful?<\/h3>\n

St\u00e9phane Donders -<\/strong> Dimo Software did not offer the Travel brick, and yet the market demands an integrated travel & expense (T&E) offering. If we didn't provide this component, a competitor would. Last year's results are good, very good in fact, and show that the application meets a real need. What's very interesting for us is that Dimo is positioned in market segments where we are not, namely the public sector<\/strong>. Last year, we won a major contract together with UGAP [Union des Groupements d'Achats Publics], the French public procurement agency. government procurement centre<\/strong>. This contract alone justifies our agreement. It brings us a flow of business that we wouldn't otherwise have. It's a technical success. Of course, we may find ourselves in competition with Dimo on their T&E offering, but in general we remain positioned on key accounts where we are not in competition.<\/p>\n

With resources like those of the Expedia group, haven't you considered buying another player in the market, like Dimo Software?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong> We may have considered acquisitions, but there have been no discussions on this subject with Dimo Software. The Group is looking more towards international players.<\/p>\n

\"Traveldoo\"<\/a>
Traveldoo unveiled a new look for its booking and expense management platform at the Business Travel Show in London.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is the current ratio between travel and expense at Traveldoo?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -\u00a0<\/strong>A quarter of our business is in expense, three quarters in travel.<\/p>\n

What would be the ideal balance and how long do you think it will take to achieve it?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong> The ideal situation would be 50\/50, and that's what I'm aiming for. We're on a good run, because we've been joined by a lot of big clients in expense, where the dynamic is therefore more pronounced than in travel. Last year, growth reached 26% in expense, whereas the trend was weaker in travel. This can be explained in particular by the travel agency market, for which 2018 was not an easy year. Nor was it easy for us, especially from March to June, with the strikes and long weekends.<\/p>\n

What does mobile mean to Traveldoo today?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong> In expense, mobile now accounts for a quarter of expense transactions, and we are going to reach 50% fairly quickly, by the end of the year. On the travel front, business is still largely concentrated on the web, at over 90%. Booking a trip remains a key element. In a company, the booking is often done by the \"arranger\", or assistant, who does not do it with his or her mobile. It is rarer to see the business traveller booking his hotel from the taxi, just before arriving. And yet the mobile phone is the traveller's natural companion when it comes to expenses.<\/p>\n

Are you preparing to join the NDC<\/a> this summer: the issue seems complex...<\/h3>\n

St\u00e9phane Donders -<\/strong> It is indeed complicated, and no one really knows where to start. I think it would be madness to go to NDC company by company. So today we're more inclined to go through an aggregator. Things are bound to change. Fifteen years ago, all the airlines were present in the GDSs, and the low-costs had created a separate model. Now things have reversed. As a booking tool, we have to keep up. What quality of content and technical interface will be offered? Nobody really knows.<\/p>\n

Are you thinking of diversifying Traveldoo's activities and content?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong> We're going to stay in our core business. In terms of launch, we're going to offer a business intelligence solution first. We're also keeping a close eye on the development of content, and monitoring new technologies, the Internet and other new technologies.Artificial Intelligence<\/a><\/strong>the chatbots<\/a><\/strong>…<\/p>\n

How can these technologies be integrated into Traveldoo's operations?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong>\u00a0The Expedia group undertakes initiatives that are common to all the group's brands. For example, there are internal hackathons in which Traveldoo is an active and successful participant. The aim is to define what these new technologies can bring to the user, and how they can be applied across the whole group. This creates technical emulation.<\/p>\n

Could artificial intelligence, for example, eliminate fraud in expense claims?<\/h3>\n

S. D. -<\/strong>\u00a0It may be tempting to scare a finance manager or a decision-maker into implementing an expense solution, by talking about fraud and what it could cost the company... The sole purpose of AI is not to solve fraud problems. Obviously, this is a possible argument, but I think that AI can have more 'virtuous' objectives!<\/p>\n

\"Traveldoo\"<\/a>
St\u00e9phane Donders and the Traveldoo team at the Business Travel Show in London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is the difference between Traveldoo and its competitors today? Does product quality take precedence over capital ties?<\/h3>\n

St\u00e9phane Donders -<\/strong> We need to distinguish between three main customer families: the travel agencies<\/strong>for whom the links between a tool and a great TMC<\/strong> can pose a problem; medium-sized companies, who don't care about this aspect and will remain focused on the product and the user experience; and then there are the major groups<\/strong>For example, if a company decides to strengthen its relationship with American Express GBT. If a company decides to strengthen its relationship with American Express GBT, for example, and considers that KDS, which is a very good product, corresponds to its needs, it has its answer. But if they're not sure that their relationship with American Express is going to last, they'll probably be more cautious... As far as we're concerned, our position as independent from Egencia, while benefiting from the power of the Expedia group, is an asset today. We have proved our independence. What's more, today 50% of our business is with other agencies, and that reassures companies.<\/p>\n

What is your view on the Brexit dossier?<\/h3>\n

St\u00e9phane Donders -<\/strong>\u00a0Like a football match, anything can happen right up to the final whistle... In our business, we are likely to see a decline, which is beginning to be felt. There is a wait-and-see effect, which is reflected in a fall in transactions in the UK. In the event of a hard Brexit, I don't see how this wouldn't have an impact on the travel industry, because it would inevitably lead to a tightening of the rules on mobility, which is the very definition of business travel. And I'm not even talking about the impact on airline regulations: I dare imagine that they have anticipated a plan B. But there are bound to be casualties. We can see the wave coming, but we don't know how high it will go or what the shockwave will be. And that's not good...<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traveldoo took advantage of the Business Travel Show to unveil a new interface, incorporating features such as character recognition (OCR) and, soon, the NDC standard. St\u00e9phane Donders, CEO of Traveldoo, takes a look at the latest news from the technology publisher, and shares his vision of the business travel market. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":83603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,143],"tags":[1093,1371,1527],"type-darticle":[51],"n_magazine":[],"class_list":["post-83587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-outils-de-gestion","category-interviews","tag-notes-de-frais","tag-sbt","tag-brexit","type-darticle-interview","vapo-free"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterview : St\u00e9phane Donders, Pdg de Traveldoo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A l'occasion du Business Travel Show, la nouvelle interface Traveldoo a \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9voil\u00e9e, avec des fonctionnalit\u00e9s attendues par les voyageurs d'affaires. 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